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Soccer referee's daughter: 'He took my daddy'

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After a referee cites a player for an infraction, the player turns around and punches him

At first, officials think the referee's injuries are minor

He dies after remaining in critical condition for a week

A referee who died after being punched by a teenage player knew well the violence that too often surfaced in his recreational soccer league. But neither he nor his family thought it would turn deadly, his heartbroken daughter told CNN Monday.

"The first time he got attacked was like 10 years ago. He was a player. He got a broken leg," Johana Portillo said on CNN's "Starting Point."

"And then the next time it was about five years ago I think. He had a broken rib, being attacked by a player, too. ... I was like, 'Why do you keep doing it? You just keep just hurting yourself.' He said that that was his risk because that was his passion."

She worried often about her father, she said. But she was shocked by the call she got days ago. "I never thought it was going to be this serious."

Police: Teen punched ref in the face

On April 27, Ricardo Portillo, 46, was refereeing a game of Fut International, a Hispanic soccer league for children between ages 5 and 17, in the Salt Lake City suburb of Taylorsville.

He cited a player for an infraction and issued him a cautionary "yellow card." A second infraction would result in the player's ejection from the game.

A broken leg and a broken rib didn't deter Ricardo Portillo.

The 17-year-old player, police say, turned around and punched Portillo in the face.

At first, authorities thought Portillo suffered only minor injuries. But at the hospital, doctors discovered serious internal head injuries.